The present invention relates to dolls, and in particular, to newborn infant dolls which provide life-like feel and flexibility. More particularly, the invention relates to infant dolls filled with a liquid medium from the neck down to achieve the described realistic features so that people can be effectively trained in proper infant care and handling, or so that people can simply enjoy playing with a doll with such life-like features.
In the training of those who will be feeding, handling, or clothing newborn infants, as for example, nurses, medical attendants, family members, and particularly children, it is important that they appreciate the newborn infant's weight, size, strength and lack of motor skills, particularly as they relate to control of the infant's head and neck. The newborn infant is very delicate and the slightest mishandling can lead to serious or fatal injury. Feeding or nursing the infant, or bathing, grooming or clothing the child, all require protecting the infant from losing its balance or control of its various limbs, especially its head and neck, and from being subjected to excessive force.
Moreover, young children desire to use dolls that are realistic and which simulate characteristics of live infants. Playing with such dolls is stimulating and enjoyable for young children.
The prior art contains dolls. Some have moveable parts or semicompressable structures, however, the prior art dolls do not provide the life-like feel, mobility, flexibility and structure for teaching proper infant care in handling. Nor do prior art dolls provide such features to enhance the joy and stimulation of young children who play with dolls.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,298 to Acree, discloses a doll which has a torso and chest region comprised of a flexible material, such as plastic, which can be filled with liquid. However, the remainder of the body parts are not filled with liquid, and therefore are not compressible and life-like in touch.
More importantly, the arms, legs, and head of the doll are not attached to simulate a realistic resilient feel. The head of the Acree doll is attached to the torso by a rigid filling structure. Thus, the doll's head is not moveable with respect to the doll's torso. Likewise, the arms and legs are comprised of foam filler covered by cloth. This attachment arrangement is extremely flimsy and does not create the resiliency of a real newborn infant's joints. Moreover, such a doll does not provide interactive force among the various body parts.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,830 to Hauser discloses a doll having rigid body parts. The doll has a plastic covering over certain portions of its body such that a thin layer of liquid can be contained between the rigid doll structure and the plastic covering. Hauser does not disclose a doll entirely filled with liquid. Additionally, the Hauser doll provides a rigid neck structure that does not teach the user of the doll of the need to support the head of a real infant.
In sum, the prior art does not disclose a doll having a body entirely filled with a liquid medium such that a realistic feel and compressibility of an infant baby is simulated. Moreover, the prior art dolls provide rigid neck structures which do not teach persons using the doll of the proper method for handling and supporting the head of the infant. And the prior art dolls do not disclose a doll that creates appropriate interactive forces among the body parts.